Dr. Jigoro Kano was born in December, 1860. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University, Dr. Kano founded Kodokan Judo. He served for 23 years as principal of the Higher Normal School and the Tokyo Higher Normal School, which were forerunners of the University of Tsukuba.

During those years, he devoted himself to educational reform, the promotion of physical education and sports, and the development of the Olympic Movement. The year 2011 marks the 151st anniversary of Dr. Jigoro Kano’s birth.

Dr. Kano’s philosophy and achievements as an educator will give us guidelines for university education and the role of Japanese in the world.

Pakistan Judo Federation in its 21st National Judo Championship-2011 in which Pakistan Wapda rules as 1st, Pakistan Army grabbed 2nd and Pakistan Railway got 3rd position in 21st Senior National Judo Championships- 2011, Peshawar.

The Pakistan Wapda continued to rule the roost by lifting the winner’s trophy, Pakistan Army claimed the runners-up title while Pakistan Railway were awarded the third-play trophy as the 21st Senior, 2nd Junior and 3rd Inter-provincial National Judo Championship-2011 ended peacefully with a colorful ceremony here at the Qayyum Sports Complex on Sunday.

Featuring around 200 athletes and officials from across the country, an impressive closing ceremony brought the biggest national sporting gala to an end with Pakistan Wapda clinching the overall first position securing 128 points.

Pakistan Army (81 points) obtained the second position overall in the week-long extravaganza while the third spot went to Pakistan Railway with 57 points.
In all, the Pakistan Wapda grabbed 09 medals, including 08 gold, and 01 bronze, followed by Pakistan Army with 08 medals (02 gold, 03 silver and 03 bronze) and Pakistan Railway with 08 medals (03 silver and 05 bronze).

Gives a tribute to Dr. jigoro Kano on his 151st anniversary by cutting a Cake in which Syed Aqil Shah (President of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association & Minister of Sports); Rifaqat Ullah Baber (Vice President of Pakistan Judo Federation); Syed Farhat Ali (Director Of sports, PAF) and many other of different National Sports Federations were present.

Dr. Kano’s Achievement Education through Judo:

Dr. Kano developed traditional jujitsu into judo and founded Kodokan judo in 1882 for students to acquire a scientific approach, a sense of justice, fairness, and humility, and the ability to make full use of the knowledge acquired during the judo training. He advocated the philosophy “Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort, Mutual Welfare and Benefit.”

He toured all over the world to disseminate judo and its philosophy. Now judo has spread to over 200 countries as a sport to train one’s body and mind. Therefore, Dr. Kano is well known as a founder of judo throughout the world.

Improvement of School Education:

Dr. Kano achieved innovative reform, including the establishment of a free campus environment instead of military-style discipline, the introduction of extracurricular activities, and the admittance of Chinese students during his term as the principal of the Higher Normal High School.

He extended the duration of teacher training to be the same as that of universities and laid the groundwork for promoting higher normal schools to the level of universities to foster educators with profound knowledge. As the result of this, modern Japanese secondary and teachers’ education have improved.

The Tokyo University of Education and the University of Tsukuba have produced a large number of capable educators and researchers. Dr. Kano also devoted himself to the establishment of girls’ high schools in prefectures and to the introduction of Roman letter education.

Admittance of International Students:

Dr. Kano was the first educator in Japan who invited students from overseas. Initially these students learned at a private school called “Kobun Gakuin” and then at the Tokyo Higher Normal School from 1899. Dr. Kano’s philosophy as principal was” Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort” and “Mutual Welfare and Benefit.” Many Chinese students learned at the Higher Normal School.

The alumni of that school became faculty members of Peking University or Beijing Normal University or worked at other Chinese academic or educational institutions. Approximately 8,000 Chinese students studied at Kobun Gakuin and the Tokyo Higher Normal School, and among those were Lu Xun, Tian Han, and MaoZedong. Based on Dr. Kano’s philosophy “Mutual Welfare and Benefit”, Japan accepted some 300,000 international students by 2010.

Promotion of Olympic Movement:

Dr. Kano became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee and devoted himself to the Olympic Movement in Asia and Japan. In 1921, Dr. Kano took two runners, Yahiko Mishima (Tokyo Imperial University) and Shizo Kanakuri (Higher Normal College)to the Fifth Olympiad in Stockholm as head of the Japanese team. Since then, Japan has promoted sports and cultural exchanges with countries around the world.

Dr. Kano emphasized the integration of the spirit of martial arts and the Olympic creed. Through this, he tried to enhance the Olympic Games as an international event. The European IOC members called Dr. Kano a “true educator of youth” and “a man of character in sports education”.

Establishment of Sport and Physical Education:

Dr. Kano played a key role in getting sports included in the school curriculum by establishing the Department of Physical Education at the Tokyo Higher Normal School in 1915. He also encouraged students to actively participate in extracurricular activities.

In 1911, he established the Japan Sports Association for all Japanese people to practice sports such as swimming and long-distance running. These sports activities have become popular throughout Japan with the support of educators who graduated from the Tokyo Higher Normal School.